Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
by mattnme04
Summary: Troy and Gabriella meet and hit it off instantly. The only problem is that Gabriella isn't from the area. When they try a long distance relationship, will it work out for them or will it be a bumpy road for them?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys...I'm back. I've been writing constantly for a while, but just haven't had enough creative juices flowing to actually get anything published. This story actually just came to me and it's been the only thing I've been able to stick with. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 1

I was currently waiting in line at a little café near my apartment. I came here every morning and usually recognized nearly everyone that was there with me. I'd been coming here for a couple of years and had gotten to know many of the regulars that came in around the same time I did. However, on this particular morning as I glanced around me, my eyes landed on one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She had dark chestnut curls. She was a petite woman, probably not very tall when she stood. I couldn't help but stare at her. I'd never seen her in there before. She was also glancing around her as she sipped on her coffee. When she looked in my direction, our eyes met and I noticed she had the most beautiful brown eyes. I quickly diverted my attention away from her and continued on in the line to get my morning coffee.

Throughout the day, I couldn't get that woman off my mind. I was beginning to regret not talking to her. So the next morning as I went to get my coffee, I walked in the café in hopes of seeing her again. But as I looked around, she was nowhere in sight. My shoulders slumped in despair. As I stood in line, I heard the door chime behind me and a couple minutes later I felt someone tap my shoulder. As I turned around, I tried not to show my excitement and surprise as I realized the woman from yesterday was the one who had tapped my shoulder.

"Sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help but notice that you were here yesterday. Do you come here often?" she asked.

"Yes, every morning actually," I responded.

She nodded. "What would you recommend?"

I suggested a couple of options that were on the menu that I usually picked from. She nodded and thanked me. I stuck my hand out to her.

"Troy Bolton."

She took my hand and shook it. "Gabriella Montez." She smiled. She had the most beautiful smile.

"Are you new to the area? I usually come in here every morning and I've never seen you around."

"Oh…uh…actually I'm just here visiting. My mom lives here, so I took some vacation time to come see her."

"Oh," I said, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice that she wasn't going to be a regular. There was something about her that made me want to get to know her better. "Well I hope you have a good visit." I stepped up to order my coffee and as soon as I had it, I said goodbye to Gabriella and headed to work.

The next morning, I got to the café a few minutes early in hopes that maybe Gabriella would be there once again. I wasn't disappointed as I walked in this time to find her already in line. She was the last person in line, so I walked up behind her.

"You're becoming quite the regular around here," I said.

She turned around quickly, surprised at my sudden appearance, and smirked. "Well, what can I say…this place is growing on me and has a lot to offer."

We continued to talk until I had gotten my coffee and had to leave for work, agreeing we'd see each other again the following morning.

Over the next few days, Gabriella and I continued to meet up and talk while we got our coffee. Finally, the day before she was supposed to go home, I got up the courage to ask her to dinner.

"I don't know, Troy," was her response.

"Just a quick dinner. I've really enjoyed your company and I'd like to take you to dinner before you have to go home. I won't keep you out late, I promise. I know you want to spend some time with your mom and you have an early flight."

Gabriella nodded. "Okay, what time and where?"

"How about you give me your address and I'll pick you up at six."

Gabriella nodded once again and wrote down her address for me. I went to work excited for that evening. At six o'clock, I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. A slightly older version of Gabriella answered the door. I assumed she was Gabriella's mom.

"Hi, I'm Troy Bolton. I'm here to pick up Gabriella."

"Hi, Troy. I'm Maria. Come on in. Gabriella's just finishing getting ready." I stood inside the door waiting for Gabriella, but didn't have to wait long as I saw her coming down the stairs. She was in a pair of jeans with a red top and black heels. She looked beautiful as always.

"Hi," I said, nearly speechless at the sight of her. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you. So where are we going?"

"There's this amazing little bistro close by that I thought we could go to. I thought it would be easy to get to and they have quick service."

Gabriella nodded and told her mom she'd be back later. Maria just smiled and told us to have a good time. I helped Gabriella into my car before driving off in the direction of the bistro.

Throughout dinner, we talked and shared stories, laughed and just had a great time. When we were finished eating, disappointment started to sink in as I realized this was the last time I'd probably see Gabriella. She was leaving tomorrow and she lived on the opposite side of the country.

As I pulled up in front of her mom's house, I looked over at her. She had her head down as she stared at her hands that were fidgeting in her lap. Finally, she looked up and over at me.

"Troy, I had an amazing time. I don't think I've enjoyed spending time with someone as much as I have with you this week. I really wish I wasn't leaving tomorrow."

"Then don't. Stay a few more days."

She gave me a wistful smile. "I wish it was that easy. The hospital is expecting me back in a couple days and I want to make sure I'm rested before going back to work." She was a children's doctor at a hospital in New York. She told me it was a tough job, but she loved it.

I nodded at her, understanding that her vacation was simply over. She must have noticed my disappointment.

"You have my number, though. There's no reason we can't still talk," she suggested.

I nodded again. "You're right. I've just enjoyed spending time with you this week as well and I hate to see you go."

She gave me a small smile. "Thank you for tonight, Troy. I had fun and the bistro was great. Thanks again for everything. You definitely made my vacation much better than I could have expected." She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Goodbye, Troy." She opened her door and got out. I watched her walk up to her door and just before she reached it, I jumped out of the car.

"Gabriella, wait!" I ran up the steps and stood in front of her, just taking in her appearance for a moment. This woman was amazing and all I wanted to do was get to know her better. I could definitely see myself with her and I didn't want to let the opportunity pass by. She stood there looking up at me expectantly. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, going over my words carefully in my mind before finally speaking up. "Gabriella, I really like you. And I had an amazing time tonight and this whole week just getting to know you. I'd really like the opportunity to get to know you more, even if you are on the other side of the country. And, if in the future our schedules allow it once again, I'd love to be able to see you again."

A smile lit up Gabriella's face as she continued to stand there staring at me. "I'd really like that, too, Troy. I know we just met, but I feel some kind of connection with you like I've never felt with anyone else before."

I nodded, completely agreeing with her. "So…what do you say? I don't care how slow we take this. I think things will definitely have to be taken slow considering the long distance, but I really would like to see where this could go. Can we give it a chance?" I asked, hoping we were still in agreement.

Gabriella's smile was still in place as she nodded at me.

"Can I kiss you?" I asked.

Gabriella slowly nodded again and I leaned in to press my lips to hers. As soon as our lips touched, I felt sparks. I felt Gabriella kiss me back, her soft lips moving gently against mine. The kiss was slow and gentle and didn't last very long. As I leaned back to look at Gabriella, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me. A smile lit up her face.

"I wish I didn't have to leave," she whispered, keeping the moment intimate between the two of us.

"God, I know. But we can do this. We'll try this for a while and see how it goes. I know I have some vacation time saved up, so maybe sometime we can plan for me to come visit you. I've never been to New York and wouldn't mind visiting," I said quietly, smiling back at her.

"I'd really like that." She let out a sigh. "I really hate to do this because I'm not ready to say goodbye yet, but I need to go. I still have to finish packing."

I let out a sigh of disappointment. "I know. I'll miss you." I reached to pull Gabriella closer to me in an embrace and leaned down to kiss her once again. "Goodbye, Gabriella," I whispered against her lips.

"Goodbye, Troy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 2

I was currently on my way to talk to my boss about taking some vacation time. It had been nearly four months since I had first met Gabriella, four months since I had last seen her. Things were still going strong between us. We talked nearly every night on the phone, just taking the time to get to know one another. The more I learned about her, the more I fell for her. She was the most amazing woman I had ever met and I couldn't wait to actually spend time with her again.

I hadn't talked to her yet about taking my vacation time. We'd discussed the possibility of me visiting her in New York, but we hadn't discussed a time frame. However, I was getting impatient and just wanted to see her.

My boss approved my week of vacation. I couldn't wait to see Gabriella and decided to just surprise her. I had her address and knew I could easily find out her work schedule without her growing suspicious. Over the next few days, I got my flight scheduled and prepared for my trip to New York. I was leaving Friday night after I got off of work and wouldn't return until the following Sunday.

I didn't arrive in New York until nearly 1 a.m. due to a layover in Atlanta. I knew that Gabriella had ended her shift at the hospital at midnight and would probably be home by the time I could make it there. I went and checked in at my hotel, completely exhausted, but still just wanting to see Gabriella. I took her address and hailed a cab to go to her apartment, which thankfully wasn't too far away.

When I got to her apartment building, there was a man coming out the door as I walked up the steps. I caught the door and let myself in, taking the elevator up to her floor. When I got to her door, I paused for a few moments, calming myself. Even though I was so excited to see her, I was nervous as well, not knowing what her reaction would be or how she took surprises.

I knocked on her door and a few moments later a man with no shirt on answered the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry to bother you. I must have the wrong apartment."

"Who is it, Nathan?" I heard a female voice ask. I knew that voice. I looked past the man to see Gabriella standing there in a short nightgown looking more gorgeous than I remembered. I looked back at the man and started to make the connections. I couldn't believe it.

My heart broke. With all that I had come to learn about Gabriella, I really felt like I could trust her, even though we had a long distance relationship. I didn't know all the details of her life here in New York, but I really felt like I knew enough to know that she wasn't seeing someone here. As we had gotten to know each other better, we still felt that strong connection between the two of us and had agreed we didn't want to see other people. We had agreed to an exclusive relationship. But maybe she wasn't feeling things as strongly as I was anymore.

I shook my head and turned around to walk back down the hallway towards the elevator, still shocked. How could she do that to me? Suddenly I heard her voice.

"Troy?" I kept walking down the hallway, willing myself not to turn around and be captivated by those chocolate brown eyes of hers that had captured me the first time I ever saw her. "Troy!" I heard as I heard her quickly approach behind me. I reached the elevator and pushed the button, willing it to arrive quickly so I could avoid a confrontation with Gabriella. I just wanted out of there before she could hurt me anymore. I felt her hand wrap around my arm and I looked over to where she stood next to me. "Troy," she said with a huge smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"

I took a deep breath. "I came to see you, but I can see you don't need me around here. " I pointed down the hall toward her apartment where the man still stood watching our exchange.

"What? Troy, what are you talking about? You have no idea how happy I am to see you! This is such a surprise! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

My anger started to come out as it seemed like she was just trying to cover up the obvious. "Surprise? Yeah, well I think the bigger surprise was on me, Gabriella. How could you just string me along like that when you obviously had someone back here in New York? I can't believe that I just wasted the time I had available for vacation just to come spend a week here, only to find out that you never took the relationship that I thought we had seriously." Just then the elevator door opened and I stepped on, turning back around to see the hurt look on her face. "Go enjoy your time with him."

"No, Troy. It's not…" Gabriella's words were cut off as the door slid shut. I was so overcome with hurt. For once, I had put myself out there, trusting that she wouldn't hurt me. I had been in a few relationships before that had ended badly, badly enough that when I met Gabriella, I hadn't wanted a relationship with her. But by the end of the week I'd spent with her, she had me believing that I could try again.

I went back to my hotel room and took a hot shower before going to bed. I was exhausted. It had been a long week at work and all I had wanted to do was spend tonight with Gabriella, making up for the time we'd been apart. I looked at the clock: 2:46.

Thirty minutes later, I laid in bed still wide awake thinking about the day, the TV quietly playing in the background. Suddenly, the sound of my phone ringing jolted me out of my thoughts. I reached over to the nightstand where I had laid it and picked it up, seeing Gabriella's name pop up. I silenced the phone and laid it back on the table, turning over in bed and hoping she'd just leave me alone. A minute later, my phone beeped to signal I had a new message.

I picked up the phone and saw that she had left a voicemail. I debated for a minute whether to listen to it or not and decided I would.

"Troy," I heard her say quietly. I heard her let out a sigh. "I know how things looked tonight and please believe me that it's not what it looked like. His name is Nathan and he's a doctor. We grew up together and have been really good friends practically our entire lives. He's in town for a few days for the hospital and instead of getting a hotel I told him he could just stay with me so we'd have time to catch up. We're more like siblings than anything. Please, Troy. You have no idea how badly I want to see you. I hope I'm not too late. If you're still in New York, could you please call me?"

The message ended and I hung up the phone, laying there thinking about what she had said. Could that really be all it was? Just a friend staying with her for a couple of days? There was still a small part of me that didn't want to believe her. But a large part of me did and just wanted to call her back. Up until today, she had never given me any reason not to believe her.

I picked my phone back up, dialing the number I knew by heart. A few moments later, I heard her pick up the phone.

"Troy?" she said. I could tell she'd been crying.

"Hey," I said, quietly.

"Troy, I'm so sorry."

"No, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I should have let you explain. I was just so excited to come see you and then when I got there he opened the door and I thought I had the wrong apartment but there you were, in the same apartment with some man who didn't have a shirt on."

"Troy, I promise you there's nothing going on between us. Nothing has ever been more than friendly between us and it will always be that way. He's really like an older brother to me. You can meet him if you want. He knows all about you."

"Maybe one day while I'm still here for vacation, I can stop by and meet him," I said.

"You mean…" she started, hope rising in her voice. "You mean you're still here?"

I laughed a little. "Of course I'm still here. I wasn't going to go back home and sit in my apartment for the entire week I was off of work."

She laughed, too. She suddenly got quiet. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

She paused for a few moments before finally speaking up again. "Does this mean I get to see you at some point?"

I let out a sigh. We'd just had our first bump in the road of our relationship and it didn't seem like either of us were going to be okay until we had gotten a few reassurances. "God, I hope I get to see you while I'm here," I said, completely vulnerable to her. "I need to see your beautiful eyes and hold you in my arms." I paused as a smile came on my face. "I could also use one of your kisses, too…if you forgive me for how I acted tonight."

She let out a giggle. "I feel the same way. I miss you so much, Troy. And of course I forgive you. It's completely understandable that you would react that way. I probably would have thought the same thing if it had been you."

"I miss you, too. Do you work tomorrow?" I asked, hoping she didn't so we could spend part of the day together.

"Yeah," she said, disappointment evident in her voice. "I have to be back at the hospital at noon and I get off at midnight. But I have a couple days off after that. And Nathan leaves on Sunday, so we won't even have to worry about him being around. It could just be you and me."

"Okay. Well I guess I can roam around New York and see if I can find a few interesting things to do for the next couple of days. Call me tomorrow night when your shift is over and we'll figure out if Sunday is going to work for you if you're not too tired to see me." I was disappointed I was going to have to wait another couple of days to see her.

"Where are you staying?"

"The Edison Hotel."

"Okay, well I guess I'll talk to you later today?" she asked, doubt still lacing her voice.

"Absolutely. I couldn't possibly go a day without hearing your voice."

"Goodnight, Troy."

"Goodnight, Gabriella."

Sometime later, I awoke to someone knocking on my door. I looked over at the clock on the nightstand: 4:03 a.m. Who the hell was knocking on my door at this hour? It had to be someone who was either drunk or just had the wrong room. I lay in bed, hoping they'd just go away, but the knocking continued. I finally dragged myself from the bed and made my way towards the door.

I opened the door, only to be greeted by two arms wrapping tightly around my neck and a body being thrown into mine. I recognized the familiar smell of the midnight curls that my face was currently buried in and wrapped my arms tightly around the slender body.

"I couldn't wait any longer to see you," she whispered in my ear.

I smiled sleepily as I pulled back, tucking her curls behind her ear.

"I'm glad," I whispered back to her. I leaned in, finally kissing her like I'd been wanting to for the past four months.

**Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 3

Gabriella stayed with me until she had to get up to leave and get ready for work. We had laid in bed talking for about an hour before we both drifted off into a peaceful slumber. I finally awoke a few hours later around nine to find her still snuggled into my side. It was the best view to wake up to that I could have imagined. I laid there watching her for a while before she began to stir.

Her eyes slowly opened and took in her surroundings before focusing on me. Confusion was evident for a moment before contentment shown in her eyes as she snuggled back into my side.

"I could get used to this," she said.

I laughed. "I was just thinking the same thing. I loved waking up to your beautiful face this morning."

I looked down at her and she was blushing. She looked up at me and smiled before rolling over slightly to look at the clock. She let out a groan. "I need to get back to my apartment so I can get ready for work. What is your plan for today?"

"I'm not sure yet. I may just take a walk and see what this area has to offer me. I'm sure I'll find something to occupy my time, though I wish it was you who was going to be taking up my time."

She smiled. "I wish that, too. Would you want to have dinner with me? I have a dinner break around six tonight. The hospital doesn't have that great of food to offer, but I'm sure we can find something in the cafeteria."

"I'd love to have dinner with you. What if I brought you something? I'm sure I can find something today that we'll both like. I'll surprise you."

She nodded. "That sounds great." She sat up in bed, combing her fingers through her hair. She looked back down to where I was still lying on the bed. "I hate to leave you, but I have to go." She stuck her lip out pouting.

I sat up and leaned in to kiss her pout away. "I'll miss you today. But I'll see you tonight for dinner. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Just meet me near the front entrance in the lobby of the hospital. There's an atrium there that should be quiet and somewhat private. There may be a few people in there, but at least it won't be packed like the cafeteria. That will give us a little time to ourselves without too many people around, especially people that I know."

I nodded. "Okay. I'll meet you there around six. Text me if you need to reschedule the time."

"Alright. Have a good day today." She leaned in and kissed me once more before she got up from the bed and put her shoes on, heading out the door.

I flopped back down on the bed, thankful things had worked out last night. She made me so happy. I heard my phone beep on the table next to the bed. I picked it up seeing I had a new text from Gabriella.

_Miss you already._

I smiled and text her back. _You have no idea. Can't wait to see you in 8 hours._

I put the phone down and stood up from the bed. I got dressed and went out into the city to find something to do that would pass the time quickly.

By 5:45 I was sitting in the lobby of the hospital with dinner. Gabriella had told me she should be able to get away on time for dinner, so I came early in case she was able to step away a few minutes earlier.

A few minutes after six, I saw Gabriella exit the elevator and look around until she spotted me. Her face lit up and she hastily made her way towards me, throwing her arms around me as I stood up to greet her. She pulled back, arms still around me, and placed a soft, quick kiss against my lips.

"That's to tie us over until we can find a more private area," she whispered in my ear.

God, I couldn't wait! She had absolutely no idea what she did to me. Just the sound of her voice was enough to send me into orbit. We found a table in the atrium away from the few people who were sitting out there so we could talk and spend some time with one another before she had to head back inside to finish her shift. About 15 minutes before her break was up, I looked around us noticing we were the only two left outside. As soon as I realized this, I scooted my chair closer to hers.

"So, I believe you owe me a good kiss now that we're alone, unless you intend for me to suffer until tomorrow," I said, smirking at her.

She smiled back. "Now, I wouldn't want you to suffer, would I?" She leaned in and pressed her lips to mine, wrapping her arms around my neck and drawing me closer to her. The kiss was passionate, the most passionate kiss we'd had the privilege of sharing so far in our relationship. I was so wrapped up in our kiss, I forgot about where we were. All I wanted to do was take her to bed. I drew back from the kiss, breathing heavily.

"Baby, as much as I enjoyed that, I think I enjoyed it a little too much. We'd probably better stop before we get carried away. I'm already going to be suffering the rest of the night because of that."

Gabriella blushed. "Sorry," she said, looking down at her lap. She was so amazing. She had a side to her that was sexy as hell, then there was the side of her that was easily embarrassed. The two usually followed each other. She could act sexy and confident one minute, then the next she'd be blushing like crazy. Even over the phone, I could tell when she'd switch back and forth. It was all about her tone. I always knew when a blush would creep across her face. But even then, I thought she was the sexiest woman I'd ever laid my eyes on.

"Don't apologize. I'm definitely not sorry. You give me more to look forward to," I said, winking at her. She slapped my arm and shook her head. I drew her in close once more. "That's not the only thing I'm looking forward to this week, though. I'm just ready to be with you. How many days do I actually get to spend with you?"

"Well," she said, her fingers playing with the hairs at the nape of my neck. "I have tomorrow, Monday, and Wednesday off. Then Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I have to work the 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift. So we'll have a few days plus evenings this week that we can be together."

"God, this is going to be hard. This is a lot harder than I expected. You'd think I'd be used to not seeing you considering almost our entire relationship has been over the phone. But all I want to do is see you and spend time with you and stare into your eyes and hold you in my arms."

"I know, Troy. I want the same thing. We'll just have to make the most of what time we do have. Then next time we take vacation time, we'll have to make sure we both take the time off together so we can spend all our time together." I nodded in agreement. She let out a sigh looking at her watch. "I hate to do this, but I have to go. I wish I didn't, but I still have several rounds to make before I can get out of here tonight."

"Okay," I said, disappointment clear in my voice. "I get to see you tomorrow, though, right?"

"Of course. Nathan is leaving tomorrow morning, so maybe you could come over in the morning and we could all have breakfast together so you two can meet."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that. I think it would be nice to officially meet the man who I thought had stolen you from me."

Gabriella giggled. "No one could steal me from you."

"Good to know. Now, Dr. Montez, you'd better get your sexy ass back in that hospital and go heal some kids."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you in the morning." She leaned in for one more gentle kiss before grabbing my hand and pulling me back inside where we went our separate ways.

That evening I stayed in my hotel room and watched a few movies. I didn't want to go out and explore too much by myself, afraid Gabriella would want to be the one to show me something herself. I waited up until 12:30, hoping for a phone call from her, but it never came. Finally, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and succumbed to sleep. I hadn't been asleep long when I heard a knock on my door, just like the previous night. Except this time I had a smile on my face, knowing who it was. I walked over to the door and opened it, my smile still firmly in tact as I took in the sight of my girlfriend.

"Baby, as much as I love the fact that you're here and not with some other guy, you do have a guest in your home that is going to think you've completely abandoned him."

Gabriella giggled. "I just had to come see you for a few minutes, but I can tell I woke you up. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. You are a most welcome sight, even at one in the morning."

She stepped in the doorway as I moved out of the way and wrapped her arms around me as I shut the door. She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed me, a slow, long kiss.

As we pulled back, I leaned my forehead against hers. She looked up into my eyes. "Troy, I've never felt like this with anyone. I can't seem to get enough of you. No amount of time with you is enough. And your kisses….don't even get me started on those," she smirked.

I let out a laugh. "Baby, I feel the same way. I've never felt like this before either. And I love that you love my kisses, because I love yours. Plus I like the fact that I'm not having to initiate them all." I smiled down at her, getting lost in her eyes. I had fallen for this woman, and I had fallen hard. Suddenly a realization hit me. I was in love with this woman…every single bit of her, and I wanted to tell her. "Gabriella?"

"Hmm?" she said quietly, her eyes closed now as her forehead was still leaned against mine.

I was nervous to say anything, but knew I had to. "I…I know this is quick and please don't think I'm trying to rush things…but…I…I love you, Gabriella," I stuttered, but feeling more confident now that I had gotten it out. "I'm in love with you, every part of you. You're the most amazing woman I've ever met and you make me feel things that I've never felt before. It scares me to think about what my life would be like without you around."

Gabriella's eyes had opened quickly after I made my confession, a mix of emotions in them as we stared at each other. Finally, a smile lit up her face. "I love you too, Troy, so much. I've been feeling that way for a while but I didn't want to say anything. I knew we were taking things slow and I still want to, but we can't help how we're feeling toward one another."

I nodded. "I completely agree. God, it feels amazing to tell you that. I love you so much, Gabriella."

Gabriella sighed in contentment and leaned against my chest. "I love you, Troy. I don't want to think about it yet because I know you just got here last night, but I dread when you leave. It's going to be so hard this time having to say goodbye to you, knowing you're going to be on the opposite side of the country. I know we did it for the past four months, but it's different now. I'm just afraid that at the end of the week, I'm going to be spoiled and won't be able to let you go."

I laughed. "I know exactly how you feel. But I promise, we'll figure it out as we go. We're going to make this thing work somehow. We may just have to do the long distance thing for a while, but we'll make it work for us."

We stood there for a few minutes, just wrapped up in each other's embrace before Gabriella pulled away. "I better go. Nathan will be wondering where I am. I'm surprised he hasn't called me to check on me, but he may just assume that I'm here with you. But like you said, I don't want to abandon him considering I don't get to see him that often. He's leaving at 11 in the morning, so you're welcome to come over whenever you want before that and we'll spend the entire day together."

"Sounds great." I looked down and stared into her eyes. "I love you, Gabriella." She smiled up at me. "I'll see you first thing in the morning." I leaned down and kissed her, putting everything I was feeling into it.

I pulled away reluctantly and she was looking back up at me. "I love you, too, Troy." She pulled away from my embrace and opened the door before looking back at me. "Hey, why don't you bring your stuff with you and you can just stay with me this week so we'll have more time together…only if you want to."

I smiled softly at her. "I would love to."

She gave a small wave and a smile as she walked out the door.

**Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 4

The next morning I packed up all my things and checked out of my hotel, hailing a cab to Gabriella's apartment. When I pressed the buzzer to be let in to the building, Nathan was the one to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nathan, it's Troy. Can I come up?"

"Hey, come on up."

Troy heard the door unlock and grabbed his suitcase, walking in and taking the elevator up to Gabriella's floor. He knocked on the door and once again, Nathan answered.

"Hey, Troy. Come on in. Gabi's not up yet."

I looked at my watch. It was already 8:45. "Okay…where's her room? I'll go see about getting her up. I know she'll want some time with you before you leave today."

Nathan smiled and pointed in the direction of hallway. "First room on the right. She loves her sleep, so beware. She may be a bear if you wake her up."

I laughed and nodded, setting my suitcase inside the door and heading in the direction of Gabriella's room. I slowly opened the door and quietly stepped in the room, shutting the door behind me before walking over to the bed and gently sitting on the edge next to her. I reached out and gently rubbed the back of my hand across her cheek. She was beautiful when she was sleeping. I could watch her all day like this. Her eyelids began to flutter as I kept up my contact with her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked over at me. A smile slowly appeared on her face and she reached up to wrap her hand around mine that was still rubbing her cheek.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Mmm…good morning," she said as she stretched in the bed, her blankets slowly uncovering her and allowing me to appreciate her appearance. She was wearing a light blue, satin nightgown with a low-cut neckline. "What time is it?" she asked as she yawned.

I looked over at the clock on her nightstand. "8:50. You said to come over whenever and I couldn't wait to see you."

She smiled. "How long have you been here?"

"I just got here. I came straight in here after Nathan told me you were still asleep. I knew you'd be upset if you slept the entire morning away and didn't get to spend a little more time with him before he left."

"You think of everything, don't you Troy? That's something I love about you…always caring about the needs of others before yourself."

"Mainly just you. I do love you and I didn't want you to be upset all week for not spending more time with him, especially since it's partially my fault in the first place for randomly showing up."

She sat up in bed and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Don't you dare start feeling guilty for surprising me this weekend. I wouldn't have it any other way."

In the process of her sitting up, more of her nightgown had become visible and she looked absolutely irresistible.

"Baby, you should probably change and I should probably get out of here before I decide to stay and ravish you."

She blushed, but let out a low moan. "Well since it can't happen now, I'm holding you to that before the week is out." She winked at me as she got up and walked into her bathroom shutting the door.

I let out a groan. The things she did to me….

I got up and left the room to go find Nathan. I found him the kitchen.

"She's up," I told him as I walked in.

He smiled. "How bad was it? Did she bite your head off?"

We both laughed at that as I thought about waking her up. "No, actually she wasn't bad at all."

Nathan looked at me skeptically. "Really? Are we talking about the same girl?" He laughed. "I remember she used to be awful to wake up. There were several times she tried to cause physical harm. I eventually learned my lesson and just started leaving her alone unless she absolutely had to get up." He paused for a moment, just looking at me. "She must really like you, man. But I will say, you hurt her and you'll have me to answer to. She's a special woman."

"I have no plan on ever hurting her…not intentionally anyway." I paused and looked at the ground for a moment before looking back up. "I love her, Nathan, and I know this whole long distance thing is hard, but we plan on making it work somehow. We're going to have to work hard at it, but I'm willing to put all my effort into it as long as she is."

Nathan nodded and smiled. "Good to hear. She's like my little sister and I'm extremely protective of her. I've seen her get hurt numerous times and I just don't want to see it happen anymore. She's been through enough pain already to last her a lifetime. I just want to see her happy for once."

I nodded my head, not saying anything. I was a little confused by what he had said about Gabriella having gone through enough pain already. What was he referring to? I knew there were still things I needed to learn about Gabriella's past, but those were areas she hadn't opened up to me about yet. But I wanted to get to know her better and find out about the things that had made her into the woman she was today.

I heard Gabriella enter the room behind me.

"Hey, guys," she said, coming in and giving Nathan a quick hug before walking over to me and wrapping her arms around me, looking back and forth between us. "What are you talking about?"

"You," Nathan said, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Oh great…" she said, letting out a giggle.

"Nothing bad, I promise, baby," I said, placing a light kiss to the side of her head.

After that, Gabriella threw a few things together for breakfast while I continued to talk with Nathan and got to know him. He actually seemed like a nice guy. He left Gabriella's apartment a little before 11 to head to the airport.

Gabriella and I had the rest of the day to ourselves. I couldn't have been happier to be able to hold her in my arms and not have a time limit and worry about watching the clock for when she needed to leave. We ventured out into the city and she took me to a few places near her apartment. We also visited Times Square and walked around for a while before finally heading back to her apartment.

We ordered Chinese for dinner before settling down to watch a movie together. Later when we had decided to head to bed, I got settled in the bed in just my boxers while Gabriella was in the bathroom changing. A few minutes later, she came out dressed in a red satin and black lace-trimmed nightgown that hit her about mid-thigh. I thought she was sexy before, but seeing her in that made me absolutely speechless. She slowly walked over to the bed, crawling in next to me as I kept my eyes on her.

"Troy? You're drooling."

I snapped out of my trance and wiped my chin where I had in fact been drooling on myself. "God, baby, you look absolutely irresistible in that. How many of those nightgowns am I going to get to see this week?"

She giggled. "As many as you'd like," she whispered as she leaned over and placed a lingering kiss against my lips. She started to pull away but I reached up and pulled her closer, initiating another kiss. I slowly leaned into her, pushing her to lay back on the bed with me hovering over her. I eventually broke the kiss for air, but continued my kisses down her jaw and neck, stopping just behind her ear. I could tell her breathing was becoming labored.

Later as we lay in bed, clothes having been shed in the time that had passed, we tried to steady our breaths. We laid in silence as I thought back to what Nathan had told me that morning.

"Gabriella?" I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace that had come over the room.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, her eyes closed as she laid her head against my chest.

"Can we maybe talk about something?" My voice was shaky as I asked her. I was nervous to ask her. I wanted to know what Nathan was talking about, but I was afraid to pry, afraid Gabriella wasn't ready to talk about it.

She must have sensed my nervousness or the seriousness of the matter because she sat up a little and looked at me. "Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, or at least I hope it's nothing. It's just…Nathan made a comment this morning that made me curious…"

She frowned at me. "What did he say?"

"He just said that you've been through a lot of pain in your lifetime. What did he mean by that? What's happened in the past?" I felt Gabriella tense up as she moved out of my embrace and sat up on the edge of the bed. "Gabriella?" I asked quietly. I sat up and reached to rub her shoulders, moving closer to her. I looked around and noticed she had tears coursing down her cheeks. "Baby, I'm so sorry. I'm not trying to pry. If you're not comfortable talking about it, I understand. I was just confused, that's all."

She shook her head, her voice shaky as she finally spoke up. "No, you have every right to ask. You deserve to know. It's not that I don't trust you to tell you…I've just never told anyone. Nathan only knows about my past because he was there."

I nodded my head. "Just know that when you want to talk, I'm here. I'll listen. I love you, Baby."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I love you, too, Troy…so much. And I want to talk to you about it."

Nothing could have prepared me for all that Gabriella was about to confide in me.

**I want to say a big thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate the feedback! Please leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate the feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 5

I pulled Gabriella back to lay down on the bed once again. I heard her take a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Nathan and I met when we were four years old. We were in preschool together. Our mom's met and became really good friends. So from then on, we were always together. When I was six years old, my dad found out he had cancer. He went through treatments for a couple of years, but he just couldn't fight it. When I was eight years old, he died. I was devastated. My mom tried to prepare me for it, but I was a daddy's girl. Nothing could have prepared me to lose him."

She paused to take a deep breath and clear her throat before continuing. "I also had a brother. He was three years younger than me. When I was 13, my mom and the two of us were coming back from my grandparents on Christmas day. The roads were slick. We weren't far from home. We were going through an intersection and a person coming towards the side of us didn't get stopped. They were going too fast, especially with the roads the way there were and ran through the stop sign and slammed into my brother's side of the car. He was killed instantly."

I looked over to see Gabriella wiping tears from her face. "Gabriella, baby, you don't have to do this. I know it's hard."

She shook her head. "No, it's ok. I need to get this out. I've bottled it up for too long." I nodded and she continued, "When we got into high school, I went through a period where I thought that maybe if I had a boyfriend, it would take away all the pain I was feeling. I went through a series of guys, dating each of them for a few weeks at a time, breaking up with them when I would figure out they weren't what I needed. When I was 17, I dated this guy. His name was Jason. He was the first guy who I thought might have been what I was looking for in my life to fill that empty void that always seemed to be there. I thought I was falling in love with him and really trusted him. We'd been dating for a few months, which was the longest I'd ever been with any guy. We went out one weekend to a party. There was a lot of drinking going on. I didn't drink, but Jason had a few beers. After a couple of hours, I went to find him so he could take me home. I found him upstairs in this house we were at. When he saw me, he grabbed me and dragged me into a bedroom. He tried to take advantage of me. I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. He got as far as stripping me down, but thankfully Nathan was also at this party and heard me yelling at him to get off of me. He busted in the door and got Jason off of me. He didn't rape me, but he was so close and I've never felt so violated. It took me a long time after that to feel comfortable around a guy again, except for Nathan."

I pulled Gabriella in close to me and wiped the tears that had been silently streaming down her face, putting kisses in their place. "Baby, I hope you know that I would never intentionally hurt you. I want to be here for you. I want to take away all this pain that you've bottled inside for so many years."

Gabriella smiled up at me. "Troy, I want you to know that I'm serious about us. You're the first person I've truly let in since Jason. I'm 27 years old and I've only had one relationship in the past ten years. It lasted a little over a year, but it wasn't that serious. I think we were both just in the relationship because we were so comfortable with each other. I didn't love him, though. I let him in to a certain extent. He helped me overcome my fear of being with men, but he never knew about my past, at least not all the details. I just never felt like I could confide something that major in him. But then you came along. And at first I was scared. I found you so attractive that first day that I saw you and something in me was pushing me to get to know you. That's why I tried talking to you the next day. Then throughout the week I got to know you even more and I knew that I wanted to continue to get to know you, even though I was leaving at the end of the week. But then you asked me out to dinner and it scared me even more. But by the end of the night, I didn't want to leave. You had completely captivated me. These past four months have meant more to me than anything in my life has. I've never been so afraid of losing something like I am of losing you. When I figured out that you thought there was something going on between Nathan and I and you left, I was so scared that even without trying I had screwed up the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Gabriella, you're not going to lose me. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere. Yeah, we're going to have a few bumps along the way. Some of them may be big and one or both of us may get hurt because of it. But I can promise you that I won't ever do anything to intentionally hurt you. I feel the same exact way that you do. I've had some failed relationships in the past that caused me to not want to try again. But like you, I was attracted to you in that café. Something drew me to you and I wanted to get to know you. I think I was already falling for you by the time you left to come back to New York and I knew I wasn't going to let you go without a fight. You have no idea how much it means to me that you felt comfortable enough to open up to me. I hope you always feel like that because I always want to know every little detail about you that made you into the wonderful, beautiful person you are now."

Gabriella reached up and rubbed her hand along my cheek. "I want you in every part of my life, Troy. This thing between us…it still scares me. I'm so afraid that I'm going to grow so attached to you and lose you because of the distance between us. I hate that our entire relationship has been based off of our phone conversations rather than being able to see each other in person. That doesn't mean I'm giving up and not willing to try to make this work because I'm going to put all my effort into making this work."

"And I'm going to put all my effort into making it work, as well. I don't want you to keep worrying about things. We're going to be fine. I'm not going anywhere. We'll just keep up things the way we have been and we'll figure something out." Gabriella nodded. "Now, enough of this talk…" I rolled so I was hovering over her. "I intend on making sure you know before I leave just how much you mean to me." I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

Gabriella giggled. "What exactly did you have in mind? You may just have to show me."

"Oh, I fully intend to." I smirked as I leaned down and kissed her, which is how we spent much of the rest of the night.

**Well there it is...I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave me a review! Let me know what direction you want to see this story go in...I have a few chapters outlined for the future, but am unsure what direction to take it beyond that. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I hadn't planned on updating so quickly, but I had this chapter ready to go. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 6

Gabriella's POV

Troy and I spent an amazing week together. When it came time for him to leave, I insisted on going with him to the airport to spend even a few more minutes with him. I cried a lot that day, not wanting to let him go because I didn't know when I'd get to see him next. He promised me we'd see each other again soon. I went home and cried for much of the day, missing having him next to me. It was so much harder now that we'd spent more time in each other's presence, rather than only relying on hearing each other's voices each night. But neither of us were giving up and we knew we could pull through.

That was nearly eight months ago. Next week we'd be celebrating our first year anniversary together. I had been hoping we'd both be able to take some time off so we could celebrate together in person rather than over the phone. However, Troy had so much going on with clients at the time and said there was no way he could take the time off. I hadn't seen him in a couple of months. About every two months, Troy or I would fly out for a weekend to see each other.

What Troy didn't know, though, was that I had a surprise of my own up my sleeve. I had a couple of weeks before I had to be back at work, so I was going to surprise him in Albuquerque. I knew he'd be busy, but I also knew that while he was at work, I could be spending time with my mom.

When I arrived in Albuquerque, my mom picked me up from the airport. I went and got my stuff settled in at her house, planning to stay there rather than assuming I could impose on Troy. I borrowed my mom's car that evening and drove to Troy's apartment around five. I picked up dinner on the way, knowing he'd probably be ready for dinner after a long day at work. When I got in the parking lot, I looked around, but didn't see his car anywhere. I decided I'd try his apartment anyway to see if he was home, thinking maybe I'd overlooked his car or maybe it was in the shop.

I walked up to his door and knocked, but after a couple minutes of waiting, there still was no answer. I decided to wait in my car for a little while to see if maybe he was just running late. By six o'clock, Troy still hadn't showed up, so I decided to go back to my mom's and wait for Troy to call me for our nightly conversation. I was disappointed I didn't get to see him, but figured he must have been working late.

The next morning, I woke up early. Troy had never called me last night and when I had tried calling him, the call had gone straight through to voicemail. I decided I'd try again to catch him at his apartment. It was a Saturday morning, so Troy shouldn't have to go to work. I borrowed my mom's car once again and drove to Troy's. When I knocked that time, I heard Troy moving about in his apartment. He opened the door, shirtless, with his eyes squinted and hand to his head.

"Troy, are you alright?" I asked, concerned.

"Gabriella?" he said, shock evident in his voice. "What are you doing here?" He seemed nervous to see me.

"Um…" I started, confused on why he was acting so strangely. "I came to surprise you. I know you're really busy with work right now and can't leave the area, but I'm spending some time with my mom too, so I was hoping I could see you a little." I hesitated for a moment, still confused by his behavior and why he hadn't tried to hug or kiss me yet. "Are you alright? Did I come at a bad time?"

"What? No!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. "God, Gabriella you have no idea how good it is to see you. I've missed you so much."

I relaxed in his arms as the Troy I had grown to love so much finally made an appearance. He was beginning to act like himself. "I missed you, too. Sorry if I caught you off-guard. I came by last night, but you weren't here and I couldn't wait another minute to see you."

"You were here last night? How long have you been in town?"

"Yeah, I got here yesterday. I wanted to surprise you with dinner, but that obviously didn't work out too well." I giggled, looking up into Troy's ocean blue eyes, getting lost in them. Troy pulled me the rest of the way inside his apartment and shut the door, letting go of me as I stepped further into the apartment toward the living room. "So where were you last night? Did you have to work at the office late?"

I looked over at Troy as he rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign he was nervous. "I…uh…I went out for some drinks with a friend."

"Oh, ok." I frowned at his behavior. "Troy?" I asked quietly, afraid to ask my next question, but knowing I wouldn't feel secure until I had an answer. Troy looked at me, raising his eyebrows in question. "Why were you nervous to answer my question? It was just a drink with a friend, right?"

Troy's eyes grew wide as he looked at me. He let out a deep breath as he looked at the floor. That alone made my heart drop. Troy looked back up at me, pain evident in his eyes. "Gabriella, baby, please know how much I love you."

I tilted my head to the side and frowned. "Troy…I don't like where this is going," I said, my voice breaking.

"It was supposed to be a drink with her. She's an old friend from high school. I didn't even know she was in town until a couple days ago when she contacted me. I figured going to get a drink with her wouldn't hurt. I thought that we could catch up and I could unwind a little from my stressful week. So I agreed to go. But as we were leaving the bar, I finally realized that her motives weren't the same as mine. She started hitting on me and before I knew it, she was kissing me." Troy's eyes went back to the floor as he shuffled his feet, before finally looking back up at me. I was trying to keep my tears in check as I looked at him. "Baby, please know it meant absolutely nothing to me. I pushed her away and I told her we couldn't see each other anymore if that was the way she was going to be. There's never been anything between us before. I told her about you, Gabriella, and how in love I am with you. I never thought she would have seen me as anything more than a friend. I promise you that, baby."

I looked away from him, thinking for a moment before looking back at him. "I…umm…I think I need some time to think…"

I saw Troy's shoulders slump as he fell back onto the couch, holding his head in his hands. I stood there watching him as he finally raised his head to lock eyes. I noticed the tears in his eyes. In the year I had known Troy, I had never seen him cry. "I came home last night and I didn't get much sleep. I couldn't sleep because I kept seeing you. I kept thinking about your reaction. I knew this was not something to keep from you and knew I would have to tell you at some point. I just didn't want to hurt you. You mean too much to me. Please believe me when I say I never was trying to hurt you intentionally."

Troy's voice was breaking as he talked. I saw the pain and regret in his eyes and knew this was tearing him up just as much as it was me. I walked over to where Troy sat on the couch, keeping my eyes locked with his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sat in his lap. "She doesn't mean anything to you?"

"No," he whispered. "I have never seen her as anything more than a friend, nor will I ever. She's just not the type of girl I would want to date. She's high maintenance and after any long length of time with her, she gets annoying. We just got along as friends because she was dating one of my best friends in high school and we all share some of the same interests. She's easy to talk to, but that's all. I promise."

I looked him in the eye for a moment before reaching up to cup his face in my hands, wiping the few stray tears that had fallen from his eyes. I took a deep breath and responded, "I believe you. But don't scare me like that again." My fingers rubbed over his lips as he closed his eyes. "But as long as I have a say, I don't want these lips touching any others unless they're mine," I smiled softly at him.

"Deal," he whispered. "I love you so much, Gabriella. You have no idea."

Troy eventually went with me back to my mom's to return her car before we headed out for the day. Troy was fairly quiet the entire day and kept telling me he was "fine" when I asked if there was anything wrong. By that evening, I knew there was definitely something wrong. We went out for dinner before Troy took me back to my mom's house. Troy walked me to the door silently before he mumbled a quiet goodbye and lightly kissed my cheek before starting back towards his car. I stood there confused for a moment trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Troy!" I hollered, getting his attention. I looked at his eyes. They were void of the usual sparkle I saw there. I walked to where he stood near his car. He was having difficulty looking me in the eye. "Troy, what's really wrong? You've been so quiet all day and now you won't even give me a proper good night." I could tell Troy was fighting an inner battle. He wouldn't look at me, keeping his gaze on his shoes. I finally lifted his chin to lock my eyes with his. "What's going on?" I asked quietly.

He let out a deep sigh as I saw his eyes glaze over. "I don't deserve you, Gabriella," he whispered.

"What?"

"I don't deserve you. You're absolutely amazing and you've been so forgiving of me today. I just can't figure out what I did to deserve that kind of treatment. I mean, some other woman kissed me last night and all you did was ask me a few questions about it and you just forgave me."

"You want to know why I forgave you so easily?" He nodded. "I forgave you because I love you, most importantly. But I also saw how much it was hurting you as well. Troy, until today I have never seen you cry, not that I was hoping I ever would. But in the year that I've known you, not once I have ever known you to get worked up over something so much that it caused you to cry. That shows me that it takes a lot for you to cry. And that showed me today that what we have is something you're willing to fight for. And if you're willing to continue to fight, even in the midst of people or situations trying to split us up, then I am too. I love you, Troy. And this thing between us…this relationship that we've put so much time and energy into…I want to keep it going. I want to see where it takes us. We've had an amazing year together and it's been difficult, but I know it's going to get easier for us from here, as long as we both are still in it for the right reasons."

"Gabriella, baby, please know I still am in this for the long haul. I love you so much and I don't want to ever give you up, even if I don't feel I deserve you. I'm so honored to know that you choose me, when you could be with someone who is just as amazing as you are. I want to see where this relationship takes us as well, I just don't know if I agree that it's going to get easier from here. Long distance relationships are so hard, baby. Not that I'm throwing in the towel…I just wish things didn't have to be like this. I want to see you every day and show you off constantly to all my friends and family, rather than just having to show them a picture and talk about you."

Gabriella smiled softly and sighed. "Troy, I need to tell you something. I was going to wait to tell you. I didn't exactly think this is how I would tell you, but I think this is the right moment."

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 7

Gabriella's POV

Gabriella smiled softly and sighed. "Troy, I need to tell you something. I was going to wait to tell you. I didn't exactly think this is how I would tell you, but I think this is the right moment."

Troy grabbed my hands, linking our fingers together. "What is it, baby?"

"I'm moving. Actually, I already moved. I don't live in New York anymore."

"What? When did this happen? Did you get a new job?" Troy's shock was evident on his face as he stared at me.

"Uh…yeah, I got a new job. I just wasn't completely happy at my old job anymore. I'm still working at a children's hospital, but I think I'll enjoy this job much better. It actually all happened this week. I guess it's been in the works for a while, but I just didn't want to say anything until everything was finalized. There are just a couple things left to do to get everything set up for me and I'll be good to go."

Troy's face was immediately taken over by a big smile. "Baby, that's amazing. I'm so happy for you. So where will you be living now?"

"Well, that's one of the things I need to work out, I suppose. I'm still looking for a place to live. I don't start working at the hospital for another two weeks, so I have a little time to figure it out. That's part of what I'm using this time for is apartment hunting." I smiled up at him.

Troy let out a sigh. "If I could take off a couple of days I'd gladly fly out with you to help you find a place. I only want the best for you." He tucked a stray curl behind my ear, looking at me with love in his eyes.

I let go of his hands to wrap my arms around his neck, smirking at him. "Well you see…that's the beauty of this situation. Neither of us has to fly anywhere…." I paused, waiting for it to sink in.

"Wait…" he said, a frown on his face and confusion in his eyes. He stood there looking at me for a moment before realization finally kicked in. "You mean…your new job is here in Albuquerque?"

I nodded my head slowly, gauging his reaction and hoping I hadn't made a huge mistake.

Suddenly, I felt myself being picked up and swung around before being sat back on the ground as his lips pressed against mine urgently. As Troy put all his passion into the kiss and deepened it, I finally pushed him away, slightly flustered.

I let out a giggle. "Troy, as much as I love your passion and being kissed like that, I'm not sure my mother's driveway is where we should be making out." I smiled up at him. "So I guess you're happy about this?"

Troy's smile lit up the dark night around us. "Happy? Baby, I'm ecstatic right now! Have I told you how amazing you are?"

I shrugged. "A few times," I smirked. "But it really doesn't make me that amazing. All I did was change jobs."

Troy's jaw dropped. "All you did? Gabriella, you just moved yourself across the entire country. And not to sound selfish or conceited or anything, but I do hope that I was in your thoughts when you did that. I mean, I know you've wanted to be closer to your mom as well, so maybe it just happened to be a coincidence that I lived in the same city, but I do hope I was on your mind, at least a tiny bit."

"A tiny bit? Babe, you're the reason I did this. I mean, yes, I wanted to be closer to my mom. But being close to you and making this relationship work…that was my goal. I was just hoping I hadn't made a huge mistake by uprooting myself."

"Baby, the only reason this would ever become a mistake is if you decided it's not what you wanted. I love you so much and I just can't believe this is real! You're here…for good!" Troy looked around him. "Why are we at your mom's again?"

I laughed. "Because, you, handsome, need to get home and get some sleep. You've had a long week and you need some rest. Plus I know today was a rather emotional day for both of us."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, but I just can't imagine letting you go tonight. Not after this announcement. I think this calls for a little celebration…" He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Not tonight, lover boy. Go home, get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow. We've got all the time in the world this time to spend together. Plus, my mom wants to take me shopping in the morning. So I'll actually be busy until the afternoon probably."

Troy let out a groan. "Seriously? I have to wait that long to see you?"

I smiled at him. "You'll be fine. Sleep in tomorrow, go work out, do whatever you usually do on your weekend and I'll meet you at your place as soon as I'm done with my mom…I promise."

"Not a minute later?"

"Not even a second."

"Okay." He let out a sigh as he brought my hands up to his mouth and kissed each one. "I love you so much, Gabriella. I don't think I'll ever get tired of telling you that."

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing it."

I leaned up to give him a kiss and told him goodbye before watching him get in his car and drive away. I went inside and up to my room, leaning against the door as I shut it quietly, trying not to disturb my mother who was already in bed. Never did I think I could ever be as happy as I was right at that moment. Troy made me so completely happy and I couldn't wait to see what the future would hold for us.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Chapter 8

Gabriella's POV

I had been staying with my mom, with the occasional sleepover with Troy, while I looked for an apartment of my own. Troy and I were currently looking at another apartment.

"I love this one. I think this could be the one," I said. "What do you think?" I asked Troy, turning to look at him.

He looked around the apartment. "I don't know, Gabriella," he said slowly, apprehension in his voice.

I rolled my eyes at him. For the past week and a half, we'd looked at many different apartments. Each time that I had found one that I liked, Troy had come up with some excuse of why I shouldn't get it. It was getting annoying very quickly. At this rate, I would never find an apartment to live in.

I let out a groan of frustration. "What is it this time, Troy? Not big enough? Too big? Too far away from something?" Troy was rubbing the back of his neck as I looked at him, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Troy, I need to find an apartment. You know I love my mom, but I've been with her for two weeks now and I can't bear to live with her any longer."

Troy smirked. "I know that, Babe. I just only want what's best for you."

"I realize that, Troy. But there is nothing wrong with this apartment. The price is reasonable. It's not that far from the hospital. It's in a good neighborhood. It's the perfect size for me. Honestly, it meets all the requirements for what I need. What about it is so bad?"

Troy grew serious again. "It's too far away from me."

I let out a laugh. "Troy, we looked at an apartment that was two blocks from your place and it still wasn't good enough. At this rate, I might as well move in with you to meet your distance requirements for me."

"It's not a bad idea," I heard Troy mumble. I looked over at him and he was looking away from me.

"What?"

"I said it's not a bad idea," Troy said letting out a sigh. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Gabriella, these past couple of weeks, I have loved the mornings where I wake up and find you next to me sleeping peacefully. Your face is what I want to see when I first wake up. And I have loved being able to be like a real couple for once." He stepped closer to me and took my hands in his. "Babe, for the past year, we've been away from each other constantly, minus a couple weeks and a few days here and there. I don't want to be away from you any longer. I love being with you and being in your presence. And if you'll agree to it, I'd love to be in your presence constantly, rather than having to say goodbye every night as we go our separate ways. That's why I've been so picky when helping you look at apartments. Because no apartment is going to be as good as you living with me."

"Well then why didn't you just say so in the first place?" I asked quietly.

"Because I wasn't sure how you'd respond. I didn't know what you thought of actually living with me and I was nervous to ask."

"Well if this is an invitation, then I think I've found the perfect place to live. I'd love to live with you," I said, leaning in to peck his lips. I pulled back and smiled at him, seeing a smile light up his face and eyes.

"Then I guess it's settled," he whispered. "This weekend we'll get you all moved in with me before you start working at the hospital in a few days."

"Sounds like a plan."

Over the next couple of days, we sorted through my things, loading up what I would need and taking it to Troy's apartment. We left most of my furniture and appliances in storage that we knew we wouldn't need, deciding to go through them later and sell them.

The first night that I slept there that weekend, it was hard for me to believe that it was now my home. But I loved the feeling of knowing that even though I had woken up to Troy many times before, I now held the knowledge that I would get to wake up to him every morning and would never have to leave.

I felt Troy shift beside me and looked over to see him turned towards me, his arm wrapped around my waist as he stared at me.

"You know, even though I've always called you my girl and we've been together for a while now, I think this is the first time where I've truly felt like we're really together…like a couple should be."

I smiled at him. "I know what you mean. I mean, I've always felt like we were together…I always knew that. But it always felt like something was off…something was missing."

"Exactly," he said, leaning down to softly kiss me.

When he pulled back, I looked back up at him. "Thank you for asking me to stay here. I love spending all my time with you. I know that as I start working at the hospital, things are going to get hectic because our work schedules aren't going to be the same. But I know we can do this. Our relationship has withstood much harder circumstances, so I know this will be nothing."

Troy nodded. "I agree. Plus, you get off of work at seven each night, right?" I nodded at him. "That's not that bad. We'll still have our nights together and there's always the days you have off. We'll still see each other every day, even if it is only for a couple of hours. It's much better than only getting to hear your voice."

"I completely agree."

The two of us drifted off to sleep that night with smiles on our faces. I loved the feeling of Troy holding me as I lay in bed. With everything that I had endured in the past, just knowing he was right beside me and wouldn't allow anything bad to happen made me feel so safe and secure, a feeling I had not felt in a long time.

Over the next couple of weeks, Troy and I slowly slipped into a routine. I eased into my job at the hospital and couldn't have been happier with the decision I had made. Not only did I love seeing Troy every day, but I also loved the environment I was working in. It was so different from the one back in New York. Everyone that I worked with was so friendly and helpful and I still loved my job. So going to work didn't seem as big of a chore. When I wasn't at work, I was trying to make up for all the lost time with Troy that had gone by during our first year together. On the days I worked late, Troy tried to get home on time and cook me dinner so we could eat together as soon as I got home. On the days I had off, I tried to do the same. Occasionally I would get a day off over the weekend that Troy and I would get to spend entirely together. I cherished those days.

Things in life were definitely looking up. But life can only seem perfect for so long...

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	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

**Chapter 9**

Gabriella's POV

I had been living in Albuquerque for nearly three months now. I had settled into my job quite nicely and still loved it. Currently, I was sitting in a large room full of people in Atlanta. I had been sent to a week-long conference and was ready to go home. Not only did I miss Troy, but I also was bored out of my mind.

Finally, the week was over and I headed home, catching my flight back into Albuquerque. Troy was supposed to be picking me up and I couldn't wait to see him. The more time we spent apart, the more I wanted to be with him. When my flight landed, I text Troy to let him know I was there and would meet him in baggage claim. But after half an hour, I had found my suitcase and still had not received a reply from Troy, nor did I see him anywhere. I tried calling him, but the call went straight through to voicemail. I frowned, confused and slightly worried about where Troy could be. I decided to call my mom.

She didn't know where Troy was either, saying she hadn't seen or heard from him at all while I was away. This wasn't completely unusual. Troy loved my mom, but it wasn't like him to just call her up and chat, especially if I wasn't around. But since neither of us knew where he was, she decided to come pick me up herself. I continued trying to contact Troy while I waited, but continued to get his voicemail. I called his office, but the receptionist said he hadn't been to work that day.

My mom picked me up and took me to the apartment Troy and I shared. She offered to go up with me to check on Troy, seeing his car in his usual parking space, but I told her it would be fine. I just hoped he was okay. As I reached our floor, I began walking towards the door, pulling my keys from my purse. Just as I was about to stick the key in the knob, the door opened and a blonde woman began to step out.

"Oh…hello. Can I help you?" she asked.

I frowned. "Umm…I live here. Who are you?"

Confusion was etched in the features on her face. "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. My boyfriend lives here. Are you sure you have the right floor?"

My heart pounded against my chest as I went over her words in my head. Her boyfriend? "Excuse me? I could have sworn you just said 'boyfriend'. That can't be right because _my_ boyfriend lives here…actually we both do."

The blonde shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. My boyfriend, Troy, lives here. Has for a couple of years now." She paused. "Oh wait…are you Gabriella?" I nodded slowly, curious on how she knew who I was and still wondering who she was. She shut the door behind her as she stepped into the hallway with me. She began whispering. "Well, I know he wanted to break the news to you himself, but he's asleep right now and we might as well get it over with. He's finally come to his senses and figured out that he's supposed to be with me. Our relationship has been in the works since high school, so I suggest you get your stuff and get out. Troy and I really need this time to be together and we can't do that if you're in the way."

I felt tears come to my eyes as I finally figured out who she was just by what she had said and things that Troy had told me in the past. This was Sharpay. I tried to think back on all Troy had said about her and how he didn't want to be with her, but why would Sharpay be in our apartment while I was gone, and why would Troy be with her when he was supposed to be picking me up from the airport?

"Well tell him I'll be by tomorrow to get my stuff," I told her as I grabbed my suitcase and headed back down the hall to the elevator, escaping the building as quickly as possible. I hopped in my car and drove to my mom's, knowing she was the only person I wanted right now. As soon as I pulled in the driveway, I jumped out of the car, fresh tears running down my face, and ran inside, not even bothering to knock.

My mom was startled when she saw me burst into the house.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked, her eyes big as she looked at me. I walked to where she was sitting on the couch and collapsed next to her, falling into her embrace. I continued to sob against my mother's shoulder. "Gabriella?" She pushed me away slightly to see my face, reaching up to wipe my tears away. "Gabi, tell me what's wrong. Is it Troy? Is he okay?"

I could hear the concern in her voice. I took a deep, shaky breath and looked up at her. "Troy and I are over, Mama."

"What?" she exclaimed. "What happened?"

I sighed as I pulled away from her embrace completely and wiped my tears away, settling back into the couch. "When I got there, there was a woman exiting our apartment…his apartment. She said he was planning to break up with me when I got back so that they could be together. She said they've been working on starting a relationship since high school. That's when I figured out who she was. It's the same woman who kissed him a few months ago when I first moved here."

I looked over and saw Mama frowning. "The same woman who almost came between the two of you at that point? Who he said he didn't want anything to do with?" I slowly nodded. "Gabi, think about it. This woman wants him to herself. You need to stop letting her come between you and stand your ground. You need to talk to Troy. She's probably just trying to manipulate you."

"But Mama, if that's true, then why was she at our apartment while I was away? Why didn't Troy tell me she was going to be in town? Why was she with him when he was supposed to be picking me up from the airport?"

I saw my mom's shoulders sag slightly. "I don't know, sweetie. Those are all questions you really need to ask Troy."

"I don't know that I want to talk to him, Mom. I mean…he told me a few months ago that she didn't mean anything to him. Yet today, his actions are definitely speaking louder. He told me he'd pick me up at the airport and he never showed because he had a girl with him. I just don't seen anything good about that!"

Mom let out a sigh and nodded. "You're right. His actions are clearly not justified. But you need to talk to him and figure out what happened. You'll never be able to move on if you don't."

I nodded, knowing she was right. I had to talk to Troy at some point, and the sooner the better. I had to know what went wrong. Did my move here push him away from me? Had I said or done something that upset him? Or did he just not feel the same way about me that I still felt about him? Maybe he'd gotten to know me enough now to know that I wasn't what he wanted in life.

Tomorrow….tomorrow I would go talk to him. For tonight, I would stay in my old bedroom at my mom's, crying myself to sleep, wondering what I had done to lose the best thing that had ever happened to me.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

**Chapter 10**

TROY'S POV

I shifted slightly on the bed, my eyes fluttering open. I smiled. Gabriella was coming home today. That thought alone made me not only look forward to the rest of the day but also panic. I quickly glanced over at the clock. 4:13 p.m. Gabriella's flight was supposed to have arrived at 2:40.

I quickly jumped up from the bed and grabbed my phone from the bedside table. Why hadn't she called? Was she okay? I had laid down after lunch, having a slight headache at having to deal with Sharpay. I knew I could take an hour's nap before I had to leave to get Gabriella. I had set an alarm, but it hadn't went off and I had ended up sleeping a few hours.

I looked down at my phone and noticed it was off. I let out a groan and booted it up. I had four text messages and six missed calls, all from Gabriella. She had only left one voicemail.

_Just landed. Meet you at baggage claim. Can't wait to see you! _

_Waiting at baggage claim. Where are you?_

_Is your phone off? I keep getting the voicemail. Waiting on a bench in arrivals._

_Don't worry about picking me up. Mom is coming to get me. See you soon. Hope you're ok._

Her messages broke his heart. He couldn't believe he'd screwed up like this. Why had his phone been turned off? He listened to the voicemail.

_Hey Troy, it's me. I'm waiting here in arrivals. I've sent you a couple texts but I haven't gotten a reply and I don't see you anywhere. Where are you? Are you okay? Please call me back. I'll be patiently waiting. I love you._

He was such a bad boyfriend. How could he have just left her at the airport like that? But if her mom had picked her up, she should have been there. He rushed out the bedroom door and into the living room where he saw Sharpay sitting.

"What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to lock the door on your way out."

She looked around at me. "Oh, I thought I would hang around until you woke up. I just don't feel like we ever get to hang out, even when I am in town, because of Gabriella. So I thought I would make the most of it while she's not here."

"What? Sharpay we don't hang out because honestly we're not that close, and it's not that Gabriella won't allow me to see you, it's because of the last time we tried to hang out that I never agree to see you. Just be lucky I allowed it this time. You almost caused Gabriella to break up with me last time just because of that stunt you pulled when you kissed me." I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated with this woman. "So Gabriella isn't here? She said her mom was bringing her from the airport. My phone turned off and I slept through the time I was supposed to go pick her up. Why didn't you wake me up knowing what time I had to be there?"

"No, Gabriella's not here. I let you sleep because you really needed it. You looked so tired earlier and I could tell you hadn't slept all week. Right now you need to be taking care of your health, Troy."

"Sharpay! You knew it was important for me to go pick her up! Now she's probably mad at me." I paused, looking down at my phone then back up at her. "Sharpay you need to leave before she gets here and I need to go call her and see where she is."

"Oh…no need. She won't be back until tomorrow. She was here earlier long enough to tell me to let you know she'll be here tomorrow to get her stuff."

"Get her stuff?" I asked as my heart plummeted.

"Yeah, she's moving out. You don't have to worry about her anymore."

"What?! Of course I'm going to worry about her. Did she say where she was going?"

Sharpay shook her head. "No, she just turned and left."

I knew where she would have gone. She would have gone to her mom's house. I turned and walked back to my room, calling Gabriella. Her phone rang a few times before going to voicemail. I grabbed my keys and started back out the door, praying she was at her mom's and that she would hear me out. I'm sure she was not only upset with me about not picking her up, but also finding Sharpay at the apartment when she got back. I just hoped she would listen and believe me.

As I made my way back into the living room, Sharpay was still settled on the couch watching TV.

"Sharpay…get out!"

She whipped around and looked at me. "What? Why?"

"Because I said so!" I said, my voice rising.

"But Troy…" she said as she stood up and walked over to me. "This is our chance, baby. This is our chance to finally be together. We don't have to worry about her anymore being in the way."

"Number one…don't call me baby!" I said, my voice loud enough to make her flinch. "Number two…the only person who seems to keep getting in the way is you! I need you to get OUT of my life and never come back. I never want to see your face again, Sharpay. You seem to keep getting in the way of the best thing that's ever happened to me. So just leave!"

Sharpay let out a sob as she grabbed her jacket and purse and left, the door slamming behind her. I took a steadying breath, trying to calm myself and give her time to be gone before I left myself to go find the love of my life.

I waited a few minutes until I had calmed myself to the point of only feeling the pain that was left from knowing that Gabriella wanted to end things. I couldn't imagine my life without her and I had to do everything I could to get her back. I drove to her mom's house and parked, seeing her car in the driveway. I walked slowly to the door, going over in my head the words I wanted to say to her.

Maria opened the door and looked at me with a shocked expression, then one of anger. "How dare you show up here after what you've put my daughter through," she said quietly, her anger seeping through her words.

I looked to the ground, ashamed I had missed picking her up, then looked back to her. "I'm so sorry, Maria. But can I please talk with Gabriella? It's important. I need to apologize to her."

"Apologize? Apologize for what? For not picking her up? For making her sit for nearly an hour at the airport by herself? For her coming home to find a woman in the apartment that you two share? For breaking up with her? What? What Troy? What exactly are you sorry for?" Maria was breathing heavily when she finished. She had kept her voice quiet, probably to keep from alerting Gabriella, but her disgust had come through loud and clear in her words.

"Wait a minute, Maria…I think you got something wrong. I didn't break up with Gabriella. She broke up with me. I haven't even spoken with her. But you're right about everything else. Please…," I paused, my voice breaking with the emotions that were overcoming me. "Please let me talk to her. You don't know how badly I need to see her, to have her with me. I love her so much, Maria."

Maria's eyes softened slightly. She took a deep breath, as if contemplating her answer. "You didn't break up with her?" I shook my head. "So it _was_ Sharpay. I knew it. That woman is so manipulative! But why did _you _allow her into the apartment that you share with my daughter? Do you realize how stupid that was? Or are you trying to hide something?"

I shook my head again. "No, Maria. I promise I'm not hiding anything. I promise Sharpay is completely out of the picture now. She wasn't even really supposed to be in the picture to begin with. I haven't had any contact with her since the day of that kiss until today and she just randomly showed up at the apartment. Please believe me, Maria. I need to explain all this to Gabriella. I have to get her back." I pleaded with Maria to let me in to see Gabriella.

"Okay," she finally said. "She's up in her old room."

I nodded and thanked her as I made my way inside and upstairs. I slowly opened her door and found her asleep on her bed, tear stains on her cheeks. I quietly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. I gently moved the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear before lightly tracing my finger along her cheek. I saw her eyes begin to flutter before they opened and looked up at me.

Her eyes held confusion, then hurt and anger as she locked her eyes on me. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, her voice still soft and not harsh like I expected it to be. This gave me hope that she might hear me out.

"We need to talk."

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	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

**Chapter 11**

GABRIELLA'S POV

"_We need to talk."_

I sat up on the bed. "Troy, I don't think there's much left that can be said. You want me gone and you have Sharpay now. I'll be by tomorrow to get my stuff and I'll be out of your life." I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts as I stared at my lap. I looked back up at Troy and saw him frowning and about to start talking. "No, Troy…" I interrupted, holding my hand up. "Don't say anything, please. You don't have to explain. I've had time to think about all this and I completely understand. I've never been good enough for anyone, so why would I be now? I don't know why I thought by moving out here things would be fine for us and that my track record with men would change. But I think I've just been so happy being with you that I overlooked the fact that you might not have been happy, too. I'm so sorry, Troy. Please know that I never meant to cause any problems for you. I love you so much and all that I want is for you to be happy. So if being with Sharpay is what is going to make you happy, then that's what I want for you. I'll be out of the picture tomorrow and you'll never have to worry about seeing me again. There's actually a position available at a different hospital that I can transfer to so that I'll be out of the area. I want you happy, but I don't think I can watch it happen." I looked down and tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill.

"Gabriella, that's not why I'm here; I hate that you feel like this. Up until 45 minutes ago I thought everything was fine between us as well, but it seems like everything has been going downhill since then. I love you, Gabriella, and I don't want you to break up with me or move out or push me in Sharpay's direction because the only thing that will ever make me happy is being with you. I know what it looked like today, but I promise if you'll just hear me out I'll explain everything. I don't want anyone but you."

I took a deep breath and nodded, seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes and features. "Okay, I'll listen."

"Baby, I was so excited to know I was going to see you today. I know that in our relationship we've spent lots of time apart, but this week has been difficult being away from you for even a week. I did have lunch with Sharpay today. I promise I was going to tell you. I didn't realize she was in town this time. She just showed up. So we ordered some piazza and caught up. You know I've refused to see her every other time she's been in town in the past few months and I was apprehensive about today, still concerned about that night three months ago. But I decided to give her a chance. She helped me get things cleaned up after lunch. After she was done she went to use the bathroom, so I told her I was going to lie down. Her obnoxious behavior was grating on my last nerve and gave me a headache, and I wanted it gone before I had to pick you up. I told her to let herself out and to lock the door behind her. I thought I could trust her that much. So I laid down, setting my alarm on my phone so I could make it in time to pick you up. But I figured out that while I was asleep Sharpay turned off my phone so I didn't get any of the text messages or calls from you and I didn't have an alarm. Needless to say, as you figured out, Sharpay didn't leave at all and was still there when you came home. I was still asleep and by the time I woke up, I realized I'd slept for a few hours and had completely missed you."

"So…you did still plan on picking me up today?" I asked quietly, making sure I understood him correctly and searching for truth in his eyes.

"Absolutely. You have no idea how much I've missed you this week and I wanted to see you as soon as was possible when you got back into Albuquerque." He scooted himself closer on the bed to me and grabbed my hands, rubbing the back of them with his thumbs.

I saw nothing but truth in his eyes but continued asking questions. "And things between you and Sharpay…" I trailed off, not knowing how to finish that question.

"There's absolutely nothing between me and Sharpay, friendship or otherwise. I told her I didn't want to see her anymore and told her to get out of our apartment…and I meant every word. I'm tired of her trying to come between us. I'm tired of being worried she's going to run you off. I don't want to lose you, Gabriella. I love you too much to ever let you go. What she did today was her being the manipulative liar that she is. I didn't actually allow Sharpay to stay long enough for her to explain the entire situation, but what little I got from your mom downstairs when she let me in was enough to connect all the dots. I'm sorry Sharpay treated you the way she did. But I promise I don't want Sharpay. I want you in my life forever, if I have any say in the matter."

I smirked as I realized what he was saying. I wanted the same thing. But I still had a few doubts in my mind. Troy just seemed too good to be true.

"Please say you believe me, even a little bit," Troy pleaded, pain evident in his eyes.

This seemed to be hurting him just as much as it was me. "I'm so sorry, Troy. But the signs were all there today. You didn't show up at the airport. I couldn't get ahold of you. Sharpay was in our apartment when I got there and said that you guys had been getting closer. And then she told me you were going to break up with me but since you were asleep, she would just do it for you. I shouldn't have doubted you. I shouldn't have listened to her knowing how she felt about you. I should have just went and talked to you right then, but I just kept thinking that all the happiness I felt with you was finally being stripped away, just like I always knew it would be."

"So where does this leave us?" he asked quietly.

I took a deep breath and looked down at our hands that were still joined in my lap. I gave his hands a squeeze. "I love you so much, Troy. But honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you just dropped out of this relationship. I know I've hurt you today by doubting you and not trusting you. I've done nothing to deserve you, Troy. That's the second time I've almost let Sharpay come between us and it's because of that trust issue. In the time we've been together, you've done nothing to make me not trust you. But I really just can't see, especially now that I know what she looks like, why you would choose me over her or how you would still want to be with me after what I've put you through."

Troy's eyes bugged out. "Are you being serious right now? You can't see why I would choose you over her? Gabriella, baby, there are millions of reasons. First off…I love _you._ I love everything about you. I love the way you make me feel. I love how passionate you are about your job. I love how beautiful of a person you are, inside and out. Whether you see it this way or not, you are gorgeous. I love how you moved all the way across the country in order to be with me. Gabriella, no one has _ever_ done anything like that for me before. If I didn't love you before that, that would have sealed the deal for me. You're it for me Gabriella, whether you like it or not. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I don't want out of this relationship. I want you to be my wife. I want to make babies with you and watch them grow up and become just like you."

Troy continued his speech as I sat there tearing up because of the beautiful words he was speaking. He never failed to make me feel like the most special person in the world.

"Gabriella, I know that you've been hurt in the past and you have a difficult time trusting men. But, baby, you just said that I've never given you any reason not to trust me. Right now it seems like all you're doing is letting all those old insecurities get in the way of the truth. We've talked about this before. You're allowing all those negative thoughts to consume you. So, please trust me right now. If anyone doesn't deserve the other, it's me. I feel like you've done nothing but sacrifice things for me and I haven't done anything for you. I feel like all I'm doing is letting you down and hurting you without even really trying."

I frantically shook my head at him. "No, Troy. You've never done anything to hurt me…not intentionally at least. And you're not letting me down. I moved because I wanted to. I wanted to be closer to you. I wanted out of New York. All I want is to be with you. You are seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me. I couldn't ask for a more perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. I want those same things that you do. I want to be your wife and I want to have your babies."

Troy's smile spread across his entire face and lit up his eyes. "So are you saying you want to marry me?"

I tilted my head at him, studying his face as tears continued to roll down my own. "Are you proposing?" I asked as I heard my voice crack, overcome with emotion. This man _really_ wanted to marry _me_?

Troy grinned and slipped down to the floor on one knee. "Gabriella, I know we have some problems that we need to work through, but if I've learned anything about our relationship, it's that we are really good at communicating. I think we've had great communication skills since the start and a lot of that comes from the fact that we had to learn to read each other just by our voices, but we also had nothing to rely on but communication to get our relationship started. So I know we're going to be just fine, as long as you're willing to keep this up. And I hope you are, because I can't possibly live another day without you in my life. I love you so much. So please make me completely happy and agree to marry me and become my wife?"

I wiped away the tears that were still streaming down my face, a smile slowly appearing, and nodded at him. "I would love to be your wife, Troy. I love you too."

Troy grabbed me and hugged me to him, burying his nose in my hair before pulling back and kissing me softly. He was the first to break the kiss as he pulled back and looked into my eyes, keeping his arms wrapped around my waist. "Just one more question."

I looked at him curiously, wondering what he would ask. "What?"

"Please come home?"

**Just one more chapter…it will be the epilogue. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**


	12. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

**Epilogue**

Gabriella's POV

_Six Months Later_

Troy and I had a short engagement. We got married just three months after that day. We both knew we were it for each other and knew what we were doing was right. I trusted him more than I trusted any other person I knew. I knew what he had told me about Sharpay was the truth, especially when we had a face to face conversation a few days later.

_Flashback_

_I was sitting on the couch in the apartment Troy and I shared. It was one of my days off and Troy was at work. He should have been on his way home, though, so I had ordered takeout so we could have dinner together when he got home. I heard a knock on the door and assumed it was our food._

_I got up and grabbed my wallet, walking to the door while taking out the money. When I opened the door, however, I got a surprise. Instead of food, there stood Sharpay Evans, a person I was quickly beginning to despise above all others._

"_What are you doing here? And where is Troy? I thought the point was clear he didn't want you here."_

_I looked at her, my eyes squinted as I tried to control the anger that was quickly building up inside. "I live here. Troy is on his way home from work. And I'll have you know that Troy does want me here. I think you must have misunderstood him because it was you he didn't want here. So I suggest you leave and never come back."_

_I started to shut the door but her hand slammed against it and forced it back open. "Did I not make things clear a few days ago? You're not wanted here. You're in the way. Troy and I are supposed to be together, not the two of you. Our relationship has been in the works since high school and all you're doing is postponing the inevitable, so I suggest before Troy gets home that you gather your shit and leave."_

_I let out a non-humorous laugh. "How blunt do I need to be to get you to realize that Troy doesn't want you? If Troy wanted you so badly, don't you think he would have found a way to meet up with you all those times you were in town? Or maybe he would answer your calls? Or maybe he would have actually made an effort to be with you instead of starting up a relationship with me."_

_Sharpay rolled her eyes at me. "I'll never understand why he's kept a bitch like you around this long, but I have news for you…you'll be out of the picture in no time."_

_I laughed at her that time and stepped closer to her so I was in her face. I dropped my volume level as I spoke to her. "If that's the case, then why is it that I have his ring sitting on a very important finger of mine?" I waved my left hand at her as her as she stood speechless. "Now go to hell, and never come back." I slammed the door in her face, a triumphant look on my own._

That was the last time I had seen Sharpay Evans and it was the last time she was heard from as well. Thankfully after that, she didn't try to contact Troy anymore. There was one thing I had to thank her for, though. She taught me how to stand up for what I wanted instead of backing down and just letting someone else have it without a fight. I wanted Troy and I was going to fight for him. I knew at that point I had nothing to worry about, but I knew I still needed to stand my ground and let her know she was trespassing.

Three months later, Troy and I were married. We had a small, simple ceremony with our close family and friends. Nathan walked me down the aisle. Troy and I took a couple days off so we could be together after the wedding, but decided to save up our vacation for our first anniversary and take a longer honeymoon. We wanted to go to Mexico.

Now, after nearly two years of being with Troy, and three months of marriage, I couldn't imagine myself in a better place in my life. I was 29 years old, had a job I love, a husband who I was madly in love with and loved me in return, I was living close to my mother, and I was living in a city I actually loved as well.

The only problem recently was that I hadn't been feeling well. I hadn't been able to eat much because I was always nauseous, I was tired all the time, and to top it all off…I was late. I wasn't ignorant. I knew the signs…and there was a pretty good chance I was pregnant. I couldn't imagine being pregnant already after not having been married very long. I knew that Troy wanted kids at some point and I knew neither of us was getting any younger. But was it so bad to want time with only my husband before we brought children into the world?

However, I also knew that whatever result we came out with, I would be okay with. Troy knew I hadn't been feeling well, but I hadn't told him I was late. I hadn't told him my suspicions. But that day, while he was at work, I went to the store and bought a couple of pregnancy tests to try tonight. After he got home, I would break the news to him and we would do the tests together.

I sat on the couch, nervously waiting for Troy to get home. I knew he would be okay with the idea of becoming a father; I just wasn't sure how he would take the news so soon after our marriage. I heard him insert his key into the door and the door swung open. He looked up as he stepped inside and met my eyes, his face lighting up with a smile.

"I got some really awesome news today," he said.

"Really? I have something I want to talk to you about as well…but you go first."

"You sure?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah," I said quietly, trying to hide my nerves and postpone the inevitable as long as I could.

Troy sat his briefcase down and slipped his shoes off before joining me on the couch, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me in for a slow, gentle kiss.

"So what's the awesome news?" I asked.

"Well…you know how you found that house that you've just absolutely fallen in love with?" I nodded. "I know we looked into and we didn't really want to pay what they wanted for it…but I think we can easily pay the cost now."

I frowned. "Why? Did they lower the price?"

Troy shook his head. "Nope. I got a raise today at work."

"Seriously?" Troy nodded. "Honey, that's amazing!" I leaned in and hugged him, pulling back enough to place a kiss against his lips. "Are you sure we want to do this now, though?"

Troy shrugged. "Well we can weigh our options. We don't have to make a decision tonight, but if we want it, we might want to act fast while it's still available. I checked today and the realtor said there aren't any current offers on it. We can look at our finances and talk with the bank and go from there. I know this is your dream house, though, and I only want what's best for you. I want to get you out of this apartment. The lease is up in two months anyway."

I nodded. "Well there's another reason we might want to go ahead and get out of this apartment, too."

Troy frowned. "Why's that?"

"Because I think I might be pregnant," I said quietly.

Troy's eyes bugged out. "Are you sure?"

I shook my head. "No, I haven't taken a test yet, but all the signs are there. I've been so nauseous lately and tired and I'm a couple weeks late. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry, but if this is happening for us, I want you here every step of the way. Are you upset?"

"What? No! This is amazing, Gabriella! You know how much I've wanted to start a family with you. I mean…I didn't think it would be quite this soon, but we're not getting any younger."

I smiled. "That's exactly what I thought when I was processing it all. I'm not ready to share you yet, but I do want a family with you. I mean…there's still the chance I'm not pregnant and that all this sickness is just some sort of virus that is causing my body to be out of balance, but considering I have more than one symptom, I'm pretty sure."

"So…do you want to go buy a test so we can see for sure?" Troy asked, his smile still on his face.

"I already have two waiting in the bathroom."

Troy grinned and grabbed my hand, leading me down the hall to our bathroom. He waited outside while I took the tests, then came in the bathroom with me while we waited. After a couple of minutes, we looked down at both the tests. They both showed the same result…positive.

I looked back up at Troy to meet his gaze.

"I love you so much, Gabriella." He leaned down and fused my lips with his in a passionate but gentle kiss.

"So you're sure you're happy?" I asked after we pulled apart.

"I'm definitely happy," he said, his smile still in place. "I can't believe I'm going to be a daddy. And you're going to be a mommy," he said as he moved his hand to place it on my stomach, rubbing circles where our unborn child was. "Are you happy?"

"Definitely. I mean this has been my dream for the past couple of years…to have this with you. I'll admit I'm slightly overwhelmed. I feel like everything is happening so quickly. I feel like the first year of our relationship was slow and steady but these past several months of being here has been full throttle ahead. But I've loved every minute of it with you. I love you, Troy Bolton."

"I love you, Gabriella Bolton."

If I had known my life would have turned out like this, I wouldn't have been so apprehensive about talking to Troy in the café that day two years ago. Who would have thought that a whole year of a long distance relationship could have made me grow to love Troy as much as I do today? I do accredit that first year of our relationship to how close we became. You know what they say…absence makes the heart grow fonder. Being away from Troy for a majority those twelve months definitely made me want to be with him even more. And even now, after having lived with him for nearly a year, I still just can't get enough of his presence.

**Thank you so much for reading. And thank you to all of you who reviewed! I loved getting to write this story. I wasn't too pleased with the ending, but wasn't sure where to go with it. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me one last review!**


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